Preview
DJ RAP
Friday, September 10
Warehouse
Over a decade into her career, DJ Rap is still motivated by the music that makes her and her fans move. She’s at the top of her game, producing, DJing and entertaining all over the globe with her passion for the modern dance floor.
This year sees Rap on tour with some changes – a slow progression of her signature sound and style and, more notably, a move toward a house-music format. Her new labels, Proper and Improper Talent, are helping her explore a new dimension, releasing different elements of her musical psyche.
"I’ve always been into different things" says Rap. "Music, whatever the genre, has always motivated me, and now it’s so much fun getting back into all the house music I love just as much as anything else I play."
This latest career development is certainly a proverbial corner for the magnanimous Rap. To help her make that turn, she’s been developing a live element for her show – a band, with which she hopes she’ll be able to tour in the coming months. The prospect of the future clearly energizes Rap.
"It’s such a great feeling," she says. "I mean, how lucky am I that I can get up and go jam with my band a few days a week? When I’m not out touring, it’s what I do... I’ve got these great songs that I’ve been working on and developing for the new album. But it’s such a pleasure being able to do this. It sure beats a day job."
Her second solo studio album, which always seems the biggest hurdle for an artist, has been a long time coming. While her last album vaulted her into the higher echelons of world-calibre producers, for her next album, Rap wants to focus on the musical palette she has spent a lifetime cultivating.
"On the coming album, my emphasis is really on songs again," she says. "It was for the last album as well, but songs really are what has me piqued. It’s such a different discipline as opposed to making tracks for the dance floor. It makes me conceive of what I do differently and that kind of challenge is both fun and rewarding."
Rap’s perspective on her role in the music industry and her relative DJ celebrity is a humble one. This current musical shift doesn’t come at the expense of her other production, specifically drum ’n’ bass, it’s more an expansion into a dimension that she sees as a natural extension of her growth as an artist and DJ.
"With the way the music industry is right now, it’s really up to me to define what I am," she says. "I am these things and exploring these elements just seems a proper fit."
That fit only broadens Rap’s appeal. When combined with her extensive touring schedule it makes her a candidate for the hardest working woman in dance music. Though neither of the aforementioned aspects supercedes the other, both serve to hone Rap’s dedication to developing a career and a musical style on her terms, which for Rap, like any artist, is the best place to be.
"I guess, the biggest lesson I’ve learned from the last few years is that it’s really an honour to do this for a living," she says. It’s an honour that she has no problem living up to. |
Copyright ©2004 FFWD. All rights reserved.